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Sunday, May 25, 2014

On May 22, 2013 I was fortunate enough to be part of a brave staff that pulled off the very first Teach Like A PIRATE Day at Utica Junior High. Exactly one year later, I was part of the Big Walnut Intermediate staff that pulled off the second.

I'll be very honest, I was more nervous about the second one than I was the first. Part of the reason was I saw how awesome the first one was and I was uncertain if the second one would live up to the hype. I mean face it, very rarely is a sequel better than the original. No one will argue that The Karate Kid 2 was better than The Karate Kid.

There was no letdown. Last year, kids ran through the halls to get to the next experience. This year kids were on a dead sprint. If there is any one thing that we need to find a solution to before we hold TLAP Day 3 (and we WILL be holding TLAP Day 3) it is to figure out how to slow this down. It is difficult to be upset with 5th and 6th graders who are so excited to get to their next class that they are sprinting. However, it is a safety issue, and one we will work to find a solution.

This year was also different in that we had guests from other districts who came to witness the event. It was nice to show what we were doing and continue our conversations, because they may have some ideas on how to improve the day. It is also nice to see these educators thinking about bringing a similar experience back to their schools.

The funniest part of the day was when a few parents came to pick their children up early for various reasons. The children came down to the office and politely told their parents that there was NO WAY they were leaving school because they were having too much fun and were learning. As a parent, how do you argue with that?

The kids were excited. The parents were excited. Our teachers were teaching like they do all the time but we decided to make an event of it. It was good for our teachers to see the answer to Dave Burgess' key question:

If the kids didn't have to be there, would you be teaching to an empty room?

May 22, 2014 came and went and there is one thing for certain, the sequel was no let down, and there were no empty rooms.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Students will pair up, use their math knowledge to find the answers to mystery questions. The correct answers will earn students “Pirate Booty.” The first student pair to return to the finish with the most booty wins the treasure. Students will need a partner, electronic device with a calculator, and stopwatch. Be prepared to be moving quickly inside and out. Come and discover The Treasure of Learning.

Brown (Periods 2, 4, 5, 6):QR Code Scavenger Hunt- Students will need a smartphone, ipod, or tablet with a QR code reader app. QR codes will be spread out throughout the school and there will be math questions encoded on each one. Each code will give students a hint where to find the next code.

Byanski (Periods 1, 2, 4, 6): Students will be part of a Murder Mystery. They will solve a crime based on clues and evidence. Students will create a sequence of events to outline the crime's timeline, summarize reading and key information, and create a prediction based on inference.

Corven (Periods 1, 2, 4, 5):The Marshmallow Challenge- Are you creative? Be part of a group problem solving activity involving spaghetti, tape, string and one marshmallow. The challenge is to design and construct the tallest free-standing structure.

Crawford (2, 4, 5, 6): Glarch Madness - Students will be creating glarch out of liquid starch and glue. Then, we will have a single elimination tournament using straws to see which student can blow the largest bubbles with the glarch.

Denton (Periods 4, 5, 6): Outdoor games that you can play all summer long. Games will include corn hole, blongo, kan jam, disc golf, and more. We will meet in the Gym.

Evener (Periods 1, 2, 5, 6): Dude, Mr. Musclemilk just won the Mr. Universe body-building contest. He's having a party to celebrate winning his awesome trophy. But one of his body-building friends is, like, not happy about it and steals the award. Your job is to interrogate all the bodybuilders to see which one is the trophy thief. But to understand the bodybuilders, you are going to have to become one!!!

Firchau (Periods 1, 2, 4, 5): For Serious (and not-so-serious) Writers: Explore a boatload of ways to intensify your awareness of your surroundings as well as your appreciation of your talents as a writer! Bring a journal and a writing tool and be prepared to go outside (rain or shine).

Fitch (2, 4, 5, 6): Ever wonder what life was like for kids before the invention of video games, IPads, and cell phones? Come join us in playing the ancient games of Senet, Pok-a-tok, Snakes and Ladders, the Royal Game of Ur, and many more. Weather permitting, some games will be played outside. Class will be combined with Mrs. George’s class.

George (2, 4, 5, 6): Ever wonder what life was like for kids before the invention of video games, IPads, and cell phones? Come join us in playing the ancient games of Senet, Pok-a-tok, Snakes and Ladders, the Royal Game of Ur, and many more. Weather permitting, some games will be played outside. Class will be combined with Mrs. Fitch’s class.

Germann (Periods 1, 2, 4, 5): Long before land vertebrates and many plant species colonized the continents, SHARKS ruled the waters of earth. Today they rule in Sunbury, Ohio, some 8 hours from the nearest coastal city. Join Mr. Germann's class as we dissect the ocean’s most feared marine organism, the SHARK. You will be given gloves and protective gear to explore these unique and fascinating creatures. The sharks we will be dissecting are female dogfish sharks. Who knows what we will find in the stomachs of these amazing organisms, not to mention the babies forming at various stages of development. In order to maximize your learning experience, please bring an open and curious mind, and of course your camera. You will want to capture this moment of time and share it with your parents!

Goettemoeller (Periods 1, 2, 4, 5, 6): Build your own roller coaster. Have you ever wondered about how important energy is in building a quality roller coaster? Do you enjoy designing things? You will be going to a website to build your own roller coaster to compete for the highest score. The more screams you get from your riders the higher the score.

Haer (Periods 1, 2, 4, 5, 6) : Motion Art Painting -- Artist Jackson Pollock created layered paintings by dripping, drizzling and dancing the paint across a canvas. Inspired by this technique we are going to explore the concept of dribbling, rolling, dropping and bouncing various sizes and styles of sports balls covered in paint across a surface. Each artist will create their own artwork to take home and collaborate to create a large piece for the school. WEAR OLD CLOTHES – YOU WILL GET MESSY!

Songer (Periods 1, 2): Music Game Day. Come join us in music class as we learn music concepts and play fun games! Activities will include: Name That Disney Tune; Instrument Family Bingo; Note Name Twister; Disney Sing Along and Karaoke.

Hefner (Periods 1,2): Pirates of P.E.: Come in and discover the power of teamwork with this cooperative game. Take control of the enemies ship by developing and implementing a superior strategy.

Hoge (Periods 1, 2, 4, 5)Teams of BWI pirates will search for clues that describe endangered animals and then guess the identify the endangered animal. Come to class prepared to find the treasure and get the gold, mateys! No treasure, no gold! So come to Pirate Hoge's class ready to search for “hidden” treasure! (Limited to 24 students per class)

Likens: (Periods 1, 2, 4, 6): Why couldn’t the pirate play cards? Because he was standing on the deck! Join your “shipmates” in learning several card games that you can play this summer, whether you find yourself sailing the high seas or stranded on a deserted island. Will your team be found bringing home the loot or left “swabbing the deck?” Join us in Room 109 to find out!

McCoy/Blakley/Pentello (1, 4, 5, 6): Welcome to “Shark Tank”! 6th grade students will have the opportunity to present their own business to a panel of guest judges who are being kept absolutely top secret! After hearing the presentation, these judges will decide whether or not they want to “invest” in the business. After each round, the student/group receiving the most money will be rewarded for their accomplishment. Come prepared to impress!

McLane (Period 1, 4, 5, 6): Where In The World Is This Class We Are Talking To? We will Skype with another classroom somewhere in the world. By asking yes and no questions, we will have to determine their location and they will have to determine our location. This is you chance to see a class in another state or even another country. In the Library.

Read (Periods 4, 5, 6): Rabbit and the Posseum, singing game. TUBZ - plastic percussion tubes, playing rhythm games with tubes and chairs. MUSIC RELAY RACES - students are given a symbol and they must tag someone as they both race to the board to write the correct symbol.

Sieradzki (Periods 1, 2, 5, 6): SPEND SOME TIME IN YOUR RIGHT MIND!!

Play some cool games that will blow your mind and teach you how the brain works. Try to walk a straight line while wearing impairment glasses, play some tricks on your brain by looking at optical illusions, make a “brain hat” that shows what section of the brain controls what and follow along with a neuroscientist as he takes a trip through a human brain.

Stone (Periods 1, 2, 5, 6): Dude, Mr. Musclemilk just won the Mr. Universe body-building contest. He's having a party to celebrate winning his awesome trophy. But one of his body-building friends is, like, not happy about it and steals the award. Your job is to interrogate all the bodybuilders to see which one is the trophy thief. But to understand the bodybuilders, you are going to have to become one!!!

VonAlmen (Periods 1, 4, 5, 6):SKUNK-A dice game that is part chance, part strategy, and all probability. Student will be broken into groups of 2 or 3 during this game.

Wion (1, 4, 5, 6): Glarch Madness - Students will be creating glarch out of liquid starch and glue. Then, we will have a single elimination tournament using straws to see which student can blow the largest bubbles with the glarch.

Wright (Periods 1, 2, 4, 6): Bridge Design Challenge- No toothpicks and messy glue for this bridge building project. All that your team gets is a single piece of paper and a few paper clips to make a bridge that can hold the weight of at least 100 pennies! If you figure that out, maybe you can build a bridge out of a single piece of cardboard that will hold the weight of your teacher!!

Monday, May 19, 2014

Well, we are a few days away from attempting to pull off the sequel. The experiences are in and we will print and distribute the guidebooks to the students tomorrow, two days before the big day. This will allow students to start to figure out which experiences they want to, well, experience.

Last year, I was a part of pulling of the first TLAP Day at Utica Junior High, and I feel like these two events will have a different feel. Many of my teachers last year really stepped out of their comfort zones and created some unbelievable activities for the kids. It was a memorable day. We were all pretty brave. No one knew what would happen when we decided to allow 250 7th and 8th grade students to go wherever they wanted for an entire school day. We actually saw kids were running TO class.

This year, I am in a new school and a new district. We have 500 5th and 6th grade students. To be perfectly honest with you, many of my teachers already create unique experiences for our kids on a regular basis. Doing a day like this may not be much different than any other day at BWI. Or maybe, just maybe, this will be a day unlike any other. If nothing else, I know it will be a day in which kids will remember for the rest of their lives.

Often times in education, we take the importance of that for granted. Kids will not remember the tests, the quizzes, the notes, or the lectures we present. They will however remember the experiences, and there is something to be said for that.